


Break Free

by MarigolD_Spaz (ButterfliesNeverDie)



Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Gen, Multi, Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-11
Updated: 2017-11-11
Packaged: 2018-07-22 20:37:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7453117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ButterfliesNeverDie/pseuds/MarigolD_Spaz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Coby and Sabo didn't have much to live for, the Revolutionaries had been against the World Government and their ideals of 'Absolute Justice' for years now, and they were the only ones left. In a last ditch effort and a crazy idea, Sabo and Coby go on an adventure of a lifetime together to try and save the world from the utter destruction in the future. Along the way they will meet old friends who should be dead but are now alive, and find out that not everything is as it should be.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Now Break

**Author's Note:**

> Un-beta'd so far. So please excuse any mistakes. This will be updated randomly probably, and is mostly a way for me to get back into the writing business and not much more. It's also a shameless making sure Ace doesn't die fic too, if you don't like that or time travel you should probably head off now.  
> -  
> You can vote for pairings if you'd prefer, but there won't be much romance in this fic, it's mainly Gen and shall remain so.  
> Slash, Femslash, etc is all accepted as votes. [I have a weakness for strange ones too, like ViviNami].  
> -  
> Please give your opinion on how this is going, and if you give any random good ideas I could add it into things!

Br.eak F.ree

* * *

 

Chapter One: Now Break- The Beginning  


* * *

Death.. Pain.. Havoc... Sorrow; the Wolrd Government didn't care what they caused. They ignored how the environment suffered, how many civilian lives were at cost. They didn't care how the world was dying- they continued as they grew, if only for what they believed in - Absolute Justice.  
  
  
    'Absolute Justice.. what a joke.'  
  
  
As one of the few left standing of the resistance, Sabo - also known as the Blue Gentleman on his wanted poster- stood surrounded by dead bodies on an island wasteland that used to be something so much more. He remembered the place, having been to it before the War of All Justice's even began. Where it had once thrived and had been known for it's fruit trees, twigs were all that was left in the now dessert-like soil. Once he'd believed that there was more good in the world, and though it had been proved time and time again there was, lately he'd been seeing more bad than good. At only twenty four years old, Sabo felt that true freedom would never be gained like he'd hoped. He'd believed, once, he'd be able to find it- with his brothers by his side. Now though, as the last of the three ASL's, he was not so sure. His time in the Revolutionaries had felt close, so much so in fact that when his brother had been proclaimed King and the war began he'd thought they'd win. Now, even if they did, it wouldn't be worth it.  
  
  
Too much had been lost, too little gained. The world was dying, and still the people who believed in the crock and bull shit that the Marines babbled on about and followed them. It had been better when, as the whole situation had spread, many Marines quit and joined the Revolutionaries side in a hope to save the world. So close to the end Sabo had realized that it was too late. Maybe if things had started quicker, if Luffy and his crew- the once used as the face of good and showing how pirates weren't all evil and how the world didn't go by the World Governments black and white ideals- had gotten stronger quicker, things may have been different. If Ace was alive, if Whitebeard hadn't died that day when trying to save Ace, maybe then they would have had a true chance.  
  
  
The if's, the maybe's, that's what kept Sabo awake at night.  
  
  
The Revolutionaries had been whittled down one by one, by this point Sabo was sure that he was one of the only few to survive. In this battle the last of them had fallen- or at least that's how it felt to him. Pulling his hat slightly down to shade his eyes, Sabo closes his eyes and wishes for another chance. He'd do it all differently, he'd not go with the Revolutionaries, stay with Luffy and Ace, maybe even convince them to become a crew together so that they could grow stronger together. A soft, sad, smile tilts across his lips before his Haki senses a clash of wills nearby and makes his eyes widen. Seemingly vanishing from view, but only moving at speeds naked to the normal eye, Sabo heads off towards where he feels the fight still going on.  
  
  
There's almost bitter amusement when he notices who is fighting one of them, Coby, the kid had come a long way- was fighting Akainu. Though part of him warned him not to interfere, another boiled as hot as his flames and told him he needed to. Coby had as much right as he did to down that damned marine, and if they did it together? Well, that would be a final stand Sabo felt he would be able to die happily to. It'd only be poetic for Sabo to die here too he couldn't help but muse as he jumped into the fight- pipe surrounded by flames and black with Armament Haki along with his hands. To die by the same man his brothers had- he could deal with that.  
  
  
Of course he shouldn't have been surprised by Akainu's exhaustion, he and Coby were in similar shapes, but they'd had more sense than to go completely wild from the get go- something Akainu was well known for. It would be that stupidity that cost him his life today Sabo decided. Though the lava was so much hotter than his own flames, though Akainu would have beaten them both in perfect health, here and now he was at a disadvantage. There were no small fry to interrupt the fight and take away from Coby and Sabo's determination and concentration. It was two against one, and Akainu was still injured from the bullets riddling his legs from Ussop's likely last stand- Sabo hadn't seen a body yet but with Akainu as an opponet it was just as likely burnt to nothing as it was still around. In the end, it's still a win, and even exhausted and feeling finally ready to collapse, Sabo is able to distract Akainu long enough for him to be beheaded by Coby's sword.  
  
  
Still, Sabo stumbles as it is over, and is only caught from falling over by Coby himself. Now taller than even Sabo himself, the pink haired former marine looks as elated and tired and triumphant as Sabo himself is feeling. A slighly hysterical laugh bubbles up from out of his chest and mouth before Sabo can stop it, and before he knows it he's being helped to sit down by Coby as they laugh so hard they feel tears in their eyes. Coughing as he gets himself under control again, Sabo notices that Coby has gone silent, and it only takes a quick gaze out of the corner of his eye to see why- Coby's crying now. Silent tears, but one full of relief and pain.  
  
    "So we won." Sabo's voice is hoarse, the workout this battle gave enough to make it rougher along with his need of drink.  
  
  
"The battle, but not the war."  
  
  
The comment is surprisingly morbid, especially coming from the younger man before him, and Sabo eyes him in surprise before his eyes soften and he looks away. Every time he looks at Coby there's a ping in his chest, and he knows it's not from the boy himself- but the hat passed down onto him. A familiar one, a staw hat- Luffy's, hanging from the pink haired boy's neck by a string.  
  
  
    "Never thought you'd be one to be pessimistic like that Coby."  
  
  
"Usually I'm not but- Sabo-san, we're the only ones left. I'm not the only one who can sense it, I know you can too. "  
  
  
....  
  
  
Sabo doesn't like to admit it, but Coby's- well, he's right. The rest of the army had been decimated in this battle, and he knew for sure that there were still many more on the other side, still growing. Those who didn't believe in what was preached still joined from fear of dying by opposing it. His eyes stare across the wasteland before him and he can't help but breath out heavily.  
  
  
    "What I wouldn't give, to go on one more adventure."  
  
  
"Sabo-san?"  
  
  
Whatever Coby had expected Sabo to say, it wasn't that.  
  
  
    "Whenever we were little, Luffy, Ace, and I, we'd go on an adventure every day. Whether it was made up or not- slaying a dragon that was actually a crocodile or finding real treasure- we'd do it. Being a kid again.. seeing them, doing all that, it'd be nice."  
  
  
"Sabo..."  
  
  
    "What about you Coby? If you could do it all again, what would you do?"  
  
  
"I-.. I'd not join the marines."  
  
  
Eyebrows shooting up in surprise, Sabo's head snaps over to Coby, and the pink haired boy gives a small grin. "I'd go with Luffy." He explains. "Grow stronger with him, know him better, I'd change- change this- how everything turned out."  
  
  
    "That's a good thing to wish for too."  
  
  
Sabo is thinking on what they've just said when Coby speaks again.  
  
  
    "Ne, Sabo-san."  
  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
  
    "What would you do? I mean- other than your childhood again?"  
  
  
"Aa- change things too I suppose. Stay with Luffy and Ace, maybe convince them to make a crew together with me, a bigger and stronger one, so we could end this before it began."  
  
  
    "I'd like that- I mean, if I could be there too. To join you all, to stop this."  
  
  
"You could be my first mate."  
  
  
    "Sabo-san! Wasn't Zoro-san the first mate?"  
  
  
"Well yeah, but there's no way Ace would be anything but Captain, and Luffy too, so we'd probably end up all co-captains. Zoro could be Luffy's first mate, and you could be mine."  
  
  
    "Who do you think Ace would make as his then?"  
  
  
"I'm not sure- maybe Marco, if he could convince the mother hen to join us too."  
  
  
    "You think he could do that?"  
  
  
"Probably not, but you know he would probably try."

  
"Yeah- he would.." Sabo agrees softly, and Coby opens his mouth, before hesitating and finally speaking his mind.  
  
  
    "Do you- do you think that we'll see them all again? Luffy and the others I mean?"  
  
  
"I like to think so."  
  
  
If there was an afterlife Sabo thought.  
  
  
    "Do you think it's possible?"  
  
  
The sudden question from Coby makes Sabo's thoughts pause and he blinks at the other man.  
  
  
    "What?"  
  
  
"Doing it all again- I mean going back. Do you think we could do it?"  
  
  
That's.. an interesting thought process. Could they?  
  
  
    "It's the grand line.. maybe- if we could find a way-"  
  
  
"Do we have anything else to do now?"  
  
  
Snorting, Sabo lets his head fall back to look up at the sky, covered in dark clouds that could be mistaken as smoke but weren't.  
  
  
    "Not really, we're the last Revolutionaries left, we could try I suppose."  
  
  
"I'd.. I'd like to try Sabo, do you want to come with me?"  
  
  
Eyes dragging away from the sky, they fall back onto the determined gaze of Coby, still so surprisingly innocent even through all they've been. It's a crazy idea to even think of, going back to the past, but- Well, it's not like two men would be able to fight over a billion men and win anyway.  
  
  
    "I suppose I will. It's not like we can do much else anymore anyway right?"  
  
  
"Right!"  
  
  
Perhaps, perhaps before they're found, they can pretend for a while that it might work, they can go on this last impossible adventure. Yes... Sabo decides, they'd do this, and even when he's sure it will end in failure, he'll have been happy to have tried- because, even thinking of this being possible, it made a hope long ago lost bloom in his chest, and Sabo feels once more like maybe true freedom isn't too far from his grasp yet.


	2. Chapter Two;;

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> iM BACK!   
> Sorry for the long wait everyone! Oh lordy. I lost all muse for this originally, but now it's back. I can blame my friends for pushing me and saying I should definitely continue! My writing has changed a lot in a year, I hope you all don't mind. Also! A new thing I've been finding helps me continue things- is collab writing. You'll see it happening from here on out. A close friend of mine is writing Sabo's point of view, while I do Kobi's. I hope we're doing them both justice[hAH GET IT?] and you enjoy it!
> 
> In other news, I'm dedicating this chapter to my friend Justm3h. <3

Br.eak F.ree

* * *

 

Chapter Two;; Finding a Way

* * *

Sabo frowned as he looked over the notes that were scattered over the dust covered lab table. He glared at the chicken scratch that Vegapunk had scribbled onto it, once upon a time.   
  


“You know.” Sabo huffed as he tossed yet another stack of random dribble onto the other table. “It would help if over half of his notes weren’t left either half written, lost to the time they spent here, or have some sort of questionable stain on them from a million years ago.”   
  


“How are things going on your end?” As he asked this, Sabo glanced up to his partner and moved onto the next stack of papers, how proud would Koala be of him is she saw just how diligently he was working right now?

 

A sad smile came across Sabo’s lips as he thought back to his former partner and her tendency to scold him when he slacked on his paperwork or avoided it in favor of indulging in other activities. Bless her soul.

 

Sabo was thumbing through a new file when he paused. “And what do we have here… I think we just got ourselves a breakthrough. Something called a ‘ _ Rewind Machine _ ’ there are some notes here, but fucking luck on reading them.”

 

Sabo sighed. “These things are worse than those shitty lines Lu claimed to be words when he was learning his basic writings.”

* * *

“Not too well.” Kobi admitted with some shame while he looked at the ramblings on the papers in his hands. “There’s just random babbling over the apocalypse- and his words have started getting written sideways.” Pushing his straw hat onto his head better with one hand, Kobi walks over to where Sabo is after letting the papers he’d been thumbing through drop back onto the table. He stops behind his taller partner, leaning to the side so he can see what Sabo is looking at.

 

“I’m really good at reading chicken scratch Sabo-san, if you want me to take a look? I uh, had to be- you know for the reports.” He winces, remembering his time in the marines was still a sore spot for him, but if it had been useful for anything it was him learning to read anything that got set in front of him through trial and error, including Garp’s own atrocious handwriting. Sengoku had straight up refused taking in Garp’s reports unless they were rewritten and legible, and Kobi had been the one stuck with that ‘chore’. 

 

Lord knows Helmeppo wouldn’t have had the patience for it.

 

* * *

Sabo snorts, “I would like to say that I know the struggles, but I don’t. Dragon had some of the cleanest handwriting within the Army, and Koala’s was nicer than mine still- but yeah I mean, knock yourself out, kiddo.” 

 

Sabo handed over the paperwork and continued to leaf through the rest of the file. “Seriously would it have killed this guy to at least have this typed out?”

 

Sabo was frustrated by that point and he let it show in the way he slammed the rest of the files onto the lab table. With his hands now free, Sabo began to move around the space of the deceased man’s laboratory, searching for anything else that they could use- or at the very least something interesting to garner his attention.

 

“Half finished notes and projects, was there anything this guy did finish?” Sabo complained as he picked up a blueprint and tilted it to the side and then held it upside down while trying to make sense of it. It looked like it was an arch of some kind… some more illegible notes on the side detailing  _ something _ that Sabo couldn’t quite read.

 

“You know what? I am  _ this _ close to giving up, finding this man’s frozen head and sticking it on the nearest sentient animal and demanding some answers! Because this is seriously not working out Kobi!”

* * *

Blinking in surprise and taking the papers before they can fall out of his hands, Kobi stumbles a bit and winces when Sabo slams the other files onto the table. He could understand Sabo’s feelings, really he could; but Kobi had long learned that letting out the rage didn’t always help- if it helped at all. Pulling his cracked glasses out of his pocket, Kobi rubs them as best he can on his filth covered clothing before pushing them onto his face and taking a good look at the papers that had been shoved into his hands.

 

Huh?

 

“Ah- Sabo-san. This isn’t that bad.” Allowing his eyes to dart across the words, Kobi’s eyes widen slightly. “This is better than Garp-san’s handwriting and- It’s apparently some kind of half insane diagram for a machine that would allow him to go back in time for a few minutes at a time so he would never have to deal with cold coffee or tea again?” Furrowing his pink eyebrows and pushing his hat off his head to let it hang around his neck, Kobi continues to read.

 

“It says that it was a failure though.” Unable to help himself, Kobi’s shoulders sink in sudden depression. “I’m sorry Sabo-san. I was hoping- It seemed like this might have been what we were looking for but..”

 

* * *

As soon as Kobi tells Sabo that the writing isn’t  _ that _ bad, Sabo shoots him the most exaggerated and incredulous look that he has at his disposal that screamed _ , ‘Are you fucking kidding me?’ _ The look only got worse the more Kobi reads the notes and explains what they say.

 

“Coffee…” Sabo’s voice is not at all warm as his eyes narrow and his shoulders heat up until he  _ knows _ that there are flames leaping up from them. Sabo has absolutely no doubt the color of the flames were blue, skipping the red orange entirely and becoming scorching hot along with his mounting frustration.

 

“Are you telling me that this man’s motivation to invent something like this, was a cup of  _ cold _ coffee?!” How was this man… If he was alive and  _ in front of  _ Sabo, he would have punched the living daylights out of him and sent him in to the next life, where Vegapunk could  _ possibly _ be more useful than he was being now.

 

“He was rambling on and on about the catastrophic end of the world and you mean to tell me that he did not once think to use  _ this _ as a means to save it?!” Sabo was  _ not _ amused, he was not pleased, he was not  _ anything _ but angry.

 

“I fucking can’t-Kobi, thanks for the help, but that motherfucker!” Sabo let the blueprint fall onto the floor before he accidentally set it aflame in his anger. He was not going to be responsible for losing the only lead that they had- even if it was some sort of dead end.

 

“That was our best bet and he  _ failed?”  _ Sabo growled and walked away from the extremely flammable objects in favor of kicking the nearest and largest object that could possibly withstand the blow, which happened to be a tarped machine of some kind.

* * *

“Well I mean.. This is Vegapunk.” Kobi blurts.

 

Kobi had heard some... Interesting stories about the man. “Sengoku said that there was a thin line between madness and brilliance when it came to him. Though, he was talking about Garp-san at that point but, I think it would apply to Vegapunk as well.” Hesitating for a moment, Kobi sets the papers he’d been reading down and walks forward as Sabo stomps around in his anger.

 

He leans down to pick up what Sabo dropped, pushing his dirty and broken glasses up his nose more to squint down at the paper once he’s back up. Kobi’s mainly scanning it quickly before he see’s a few key words and slows down. Kobi has to turn the paper sideways to continue reading, but hell if he isn’t finding out things he didn’t expect but were exactly what they were looking for. There’s coffee stains on this piece of paper, making reading at some points harder, but his eyes begin to widen when he hears the loud thunking noise of Sabo kicking something.

 

His head snaps up in time for him to notice a tarp fall off of exactly what he was reading about, an odd machine that looked like it would be better used for doing autopsy than what the paper in his hand said it was truly for. “Sabo-san wait!”

 

Kobi runs forward, motioning with his hands while clinging to the paper in one hand. “ _Don’t-_ Don’t hit that again! Look-”

 

Kobi shoves the paper under the taller man’s nose, a grin of excitement and hope appearing on his face. Kobi doesn’t wait for Sabo to try and read the writing, instead he began to recite what he’d already gone over out loud for the others benefit. “Try three hundred and thirty nine: I’ve finally succeeded in getting the damned machine to work. It’s about time-” Kobi motions to the machine. “I’ve not had coffee cold for the last three hours and it’s been grand. While I have only tried using the machine for its intended purpose and keeping both food and drinks warm, I have realised I could go further back. However I haven’t tried to- It cuts off there Sabo-san but it works- and we could make it go back further!”

 

* * *

“I will damn right kick this again if I want to!” Sabo snapped, right before his face was assaulted with the blueprint that he had discarded not too long ago. Sabo had to physically stop himself from setting himself ablaze once more, but when Kobi’s excited words reached him, Sabo gave a small pause before speaking again.

 

“So the old crackpot finally did it?” Sabo mused and glanced back to the contraption that he had dented only a few minutes ago. Hopefully that leg piece was not so important and Sabo hadn’t just compromised the mission in his anger. Sabo wondered if he should feel a little bit disappointed in himself, or even guilty to some extent, but truth of the matter was that Sabo was fed up with the entire situation, so a little dent was not going to make things worse than they already were.

 

“Well? What are you waiting for Kobi? I guess you earned a pat on the back and fuck I’ll give you all the pats you want later on, but right now this hunk of shit is more important. So keep on reading. What does it say that we should do, where’s the switch? The power source? Is there anything there that says what we should push in order to go farther in time than a few hours? Because as much as I would love to see Akainu die over and over again, there are kind of more important matters at hand.”

* * *

“Oh-right-” Looking back down at the paper as he tugs it back towards himself, Kobi has to turn it upside down and on the other side of the paper before he’s finally able to get the instructions fully read. “Ah it says, flip the blue switch, to turn it on. Also, stand back because it apparently burns the dust away in an electric shock of some kind. After the burning stops it says there should be a keyboard under the two switches, the blue and yellow ones. It will pop open to be typed on once it’s done... Running up? I think it means starting up. Uh-”

 

Scratching at his grime covered cheek and pursing his lips together, Kobi continues. “It goes by minutes, which is going to be annoying since we’re hoping to go back years.. How good are you at math Sabo-san?” Looking up to the blond, Kobi blinks, before quickly looking back down.

 

“I’m uh- not too good with math so-” He clears his throat. “Anyway, after that it says to step up and into the portal that would appear. It’s coordinated to deposit the user in Vegapunk’s kitchen, and it doesn’t say how to change that.”

 

Lowering the paper down and away from his face while frowning, Kobi walks a bit closer to the machine to look at it. “Where are the switches? I don’t see anything?”

 

* * *

“Blue switch- got it.” Sabo searched for the aforementioned control mechanism as soon as Kobi mentioned it and waved off the concerns stated on the instructions sheet before he flipped it on without a second thought. The heat that radiated off of the machine was honestly not that bad.

 

“Vegapunk was a wuss if he couldn’t stand this heat, it’s like a breath of hot air.” Sabo snorted, knowing full well that the only reason it was not bothering him was because he had the Mera-Mera fruit.

 

“So a keyboard now right?” Sabo asked as he found that quicker than he had the switch. “Found it, what next?” 

 

“Minutes… why did he choose minutes?!” Sabo was agitated once more.

 

“I know math well enough I guess. There’s 24 hours in a day, 60 minutes each, multiply six by twenty, you get 120, then four by six, you get 24, add those two and you get 144, add the missing 0 though, and you get 1,440 minutes a day. Now you multiply that times 365… and who has time for this?!” Sabo asked- or actually  _ roared  _ in his frustration and typed in a rough estimate of what he thought was five and a half years to six roughly. 

 

_ 3,067,525. _

 

“That should be enough, now we just flip the second switch right?” Sabo asks and, without waiting for an answer, he does just that. He watches as the machine begins to glow an ominous blue, red, and violet color.

 

“We will right things this time around Kobi, I swear we will.”

* * *

“Ah- I do believe your devil fruit might be the reason why it’s not bothering you.” Kobi says with a surprising amount of sudden dryness in his tone, before he mutters a quick apology under his breath from habit.

 

“Err yeah though- a keyboard.” Kobi honestly didn’t know why Vegapunk chose minutes. Maybe because he had really never felt the need to use it as anything other than making sure his coffee wouldn’t grow cold. At least that’s what Kobi had gathered from the notes and entire situation, but a lot of the info had been destroyed by a stain of said coffee. The man must have really loved the stuff. 

 

The pink haired young man can’t help but widen his eyes in surprise as soon as Sabo begins to mutter math to himself, going through and obviously doing quicker calculations than Kobi himself would have been able to do. Hell, Kobi had a hard time with just his multiplication- this was on a whole other level. “How did you-” His words catch in his throat when, without giving him time to answer, Sabo flips the yellow switch. 

 

“Nevermind.” 

 

Sighing in a way that said he was rather sure where this would be going, Kobi lets the blueprint drop out of his his hands and hit the floor now that it has no further use, walking up to stand beside his partner in this whole situation.

 

“Yeah. I know.” Kobi didn’t know if he’d be able to do this alone but- he’s sure with Sabo’s help they can do this together. Tugging off his barely held together glasses and shoving them into his pants pocket again, Kobi grabs the familiar straw hat he had let fall around his neck again and shoves it back onto his bandana covered head. 

 

For luck. For strength. For bravery. For  _ freedom _ . 

 

The hat carried the wills of its previous wearers and their crew’s dreams as well. Kobi carried it with pride and it was a comforting weight upon his head or held by a string around his neck. Taking a deep breath and letting it out, Kobi gives his best smile. “I’m ready when you are.”


End file.
